


Rights and Privileges Thereto Pertaining

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Post Bartlett Administration, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-07
Updated: 2008-12-07
Packaged: 2019-05-15 18:59:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: CJ gets her PhD





	Rights and Privileges Thereto Pertaining

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: Alternative universe, total fantasy (or is it?)

 

 

Spoilers through end of series; possible spoilers for “Holding Hands on the Way Down”

 

 

Not mine, never were, never will be, but they consume my soul.

 

 

Feedback and criticism always welcomed.

 

 

[PhD regalia for the University of California at Berkeley](http://www.capgown.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Gallery_Calif)  


* * *

**Mid-May, 2017; Kensington, CA; early AM**

Paul Reeves slowly roused from sleep. Without opening his eyes, he sensed that it was not quite 4:00 AM; he would have about three hours to hold his wife against his side and slip again into blissful unconsciousness and warmth with CJ.

Except that there was no warm pressure against his right side, no sense of silken tresses over his right shoulder, no feel of warm breath against his right armpit. Was she in the bathroom? Was there a problem with one of the kids?

The bedding to his right felt cool, indicating that her absence from his side was not a recent event, and his eyes quickly opened, his sleepy state replaced by alert concern.

A glance to the right showed that CJ was curled up on her side in a fetal position, some eighteen inches from him, slightly shivering, and Paul knew what had occurred.

Paul knew that if he pulled her back into their normal sleeping position, CJ would wake. Paul knew that if CJ woke as a result of his clasping her to him, she would assume that he wanted to take her and that she would respond to his perceived advances. Paul knew that if CJ did so, his body, which was at this time not aroused but willing to respond to her sexuality, would quickly become completely desirous of and capable of intercourse.

But they had a big day ahead of them and they needed their rest. So Paul moved his body up against CJ and pulled the blankets over the two of them. Where he lightly touched against her back, he felt an almost imperceptible clamminess on the cool skin, and the moonlight revealed dampness in the roots of her hair.

The first signs had been extremely slight, and, in all likelihood, Paul would not have picked up on them if he had not counseled many concerned and confused men over his years in ministry. There were only a few episodes – snapping at the children, treating him (in front of others) with slightly less respect than he had come to expect, some uncharacteristic indecisiveness about whether to eat out after an extensive shopping trip.

“Sweetheart,” he asked her one evening, “maybe you should make an appointment with Mariska. Is it possible that you might be going into full-blown menopause?”

The ob-gyn confirmed Paul’s suspicions. After discussion with Dr. Davlikova and weighing the risks and benefits, CJ decided to not use hormone replacement therapy. Paul tried mightily, and largely succeeded, in keeping his fears at bay. He was not sure that he could handle losing another wife. However, Paul knew that should that awful event occur, this time he could not escape to the eastern Pacific. This time (and please, dear God, no!), he would have three young lives to shepherd to adulthood, promises made to CJ as well as Danny to keep.

Awareness of what was happening to her helped CJ to handle her emotional issues. However, there was nothing she could do about the hot flashes. She had tried some of the natural, homeopathic remedies, but they didn’t help.

The first time CJ had an episode while in his arms, Paul was amazed at the drastic increase in temperature in her body. He suggested that she keep the bathtub filled with room temperature water, but she was afraid that one of the children (or Jasmine) would fall in and drown. Throwing off the covers, moving to cooler areas of their bed (or, in extreme situations, tepid showers) would have to suffice.

Paul adjusted the covers to make sure that CJ’s face was not covered and then gently draped his arm over her hip. Most of the world saw his wife as a substantial presence – the product of her height and the fact that she possessed the comely curves of femininity and not the boyish lines of the high fashion model. Indeed, when he and she were first dating, she seemed surprised at being treated with the courtesy and care that was second nature for him to give. Even on that first evening of intimacy, when he looped an arm under her knees to carry her to his bed, he assumed that the ease with which he performed that romantic act was due to his athleticism. It was only after he had completely undressed her, had slipped off the pink satin and lace bra and panties that he knew, without asking, she had bought especially for him, that he realized how slight, how frail she was.

That night, it had given Paul additional concern. He knew it would be CJ’s first time and had been prepared to exercise restraint. But the sight of her nude body, the hip bones obvious in her pelvis, the rippling of ribs in her upper carriage, made him also aware that in addition to making his entrance into her body with care and gentleness, he had to ensure that his presence **on** her body would occur the same way. Again, his athleticism would be a great asset. He would be able to hold his trunk above hers while moving within her. The time for extreme self-discipline would come after climax, when the natural action would be collapse against the softness of her breast. He would have to remain in control, to slowly lower his body, to take his weight to her side.

Paul rarely thought about the other men in CJ’s life and had never asked her about them. He knew about Danny, of course, and about John Hoynes (although neither CJ nor Hoynes had mentioned the other by name). Carol had inadvertently told him about Ben Dryer. Danny had let it slip that there had been nothing physical between CJ and Toby; the tragic story of Simon Donovan was self-explanatory. But for the most part, it was as if the years between the early 1980’s and their marriage four years ago didn’t exist. There were even times, and those times were becoming more frequent, when Alicia and Danny disappeared into oblivion. Paul could only hope that the two of them understood.

_Right now, Paul was the last thing on Alicia’s mind. Danny was taking part in a kayak race down the Horsehead Nebula and she was cheering him to the finish line. Danny was wearing swim trunks, but the lower half of his body was enclosed in the covered deck. The water droplets flying off the double-bladed paddle glistened in the brilliant starlight; the droplets that landed on Danny’s brilliant red hair, beard, and shoulders flashed as if they were diamonds. The feelings that were arising in Alicia were definitely not those of platonic friendship._

_What had started as Danny’s response to an off-hand comment from Paul and her response to three motherless children, what had started as a convenience to fill the time until CJ and Paul came to heaven, had grown into something entirely different. Alicia had come to enjoy Danny’s persona, so different (and yet not really that different) than Paul’s. Both men were somewhat chauvinistic in that both men wanted to handle the “heavy things” (to the extent that anything in heaven was heavy), both were unfailingly courteous. However, where Paul was obvious and upfront about his inclination to be in charge, to manage, Danny’s style was much more low-key. If she had any initial misgivings about a stance Danny took, he would simply smile and say “okay” with a self-deprecating smile. And more often than not, Alicia would come to realize that Danny was right._

_Danny was also more patient than Paul. While Alicia was still alive, she felt only immense gratitude that Paul had accepted her natural reluctance to express sexual attraction in front of others. However, in the five years that she and Danny had been together, the red-haired reporter had slowly chipped away at her reserve without making her feel as if her reticence was anything else than normal._

_A few days ago, she was sitting at the spa on Ganymede, explaining how, the day before, Danny had playfully taken a swat at her backside when she had laughed at a one-liner that Leo McGarry had thrown up to the reporter._

“ _Paul_ _ **never**_ _tried anything like that; for that matter, no one had done that since I was seven,” Alicia told Brianna, Helen Santos, and Abbey. “But there was this sense of motion moving through me from back to front, and I kind of wanted him to do it again. I also wanted to pull him over to our place and - ”. Alicia stopped as the other women began to giggle._

“ _I’m thinking of my honeymoon with Jem,” Brianna sighed._

“ _There was this debate during the reelection campaign,” Abbey said, trying very hard not to giggle._

_Helen just sat there with a look that resembled that of the Mona Lisa._

_There was a slight sound and Alicia turned around. She was startled to see the smile of the former First Lady and La Giaconda on the faces of the two older women sitting at the martini bar._

“ _Mother? Meemaw?”_

Paul hoped that Danny, Ben, and the unnamed others had been careful with his beloved. He dropped a light kiss on her hair and carefully shifted on the bed. He was having a somewhat difficult time falling back to sleep.

A slight breeze came through the open window and stirred the garments hanging from the hook. Paul’s eyes followed the motion.

The medium navy blue gown sported three bands of dark blue velvet trimmed in gold braid on each sleeve. The panels down the front were of the same dark blue and gold. The matching hood was lined in Berkeley’s blue and gold, with dark blue velvet trim. On the dresser sat the eight-sided tam with its gold tassel. Later today, Claudia Cregg Concannon Reeves would be proclaimed Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science and Jed Bartlet would help her thesis advisor with the placement of the hood.

Last night, Paul held a cocktail party for the many guests who had come to California to celebrate with CJ at the Durant, where most of them were staying. Later today, after the early afternoon ceremony, everyone would be bussed up to Napa, where Randy, Gina, Mitch, and Allison Cregg would host the celebration party.

Paul shuffled in the bed; the two of them rarely slept as “spoons” and he was finding it difficult to get back to sleep.

Paul and Alicia had slept that way from the beginning. She told him that she felt safe, knowing that he had her back. And from something that CJ had said in those desperate days about four weeks after Danny had passed let him know that it was also the sleeping position of preference for the Concannons.

But it wasn’t loyalty to first spouses that kept Paul and CJ from using it. Paul had always been a back sleeper and when CJ began to spend nights in his bed, it was easy to pull her into his protective embrace at his side. He had learned to sleep on his side when Alicia asked it of him, but after her death, Paul reverted to the comfort of his back, to the comfort of his early years. And when CJ once again shared his bed, they easily slipped into the custom of their past and no matter what sexual variation might precede it, they would end up slumbering in sameness.

CJ sighed in her sleep and moved back against Paul, snuggling her butt up against his groin. He sighed in return, enjoying the faint stirrings of pleasure felt in his genitals as a result of the warm contact. Had he wanted, he could have pursued the feeling into arousal and desire, but Paul decided that CJ and he had a big day ahead of them and she needed her rest. It was a far cry from over thirty (well, closer to forty, he ruefully told himself) years ago, when they had settled into a life of weekend intimacy.

In spite of the sex, Paul and CJ maintained a “dating” relationship. Most of the time, he took her to dinner and a movie on Fridays (even though “dinner” might consist of a shared pizza or the $2.00 specials at one of the ubiquitous Chinese, Indian, or Italian restaurants in the area and the movie was the one shown at the Student Union). But there were times, at CJ’s suggestion, that they skipped the movie. He remembered the first weekend, right before Christmas, when she asked if “we could just stay in” and then blushed a rosy crimson that almost matched her spaghetti sauce. His twenty-two year old body was capable of almost instantaneous recovery, especially after five days of celibacy, and those glorious Fridays nights and Saturday mornings – six or seven times were the norm and once, even ten. The frequency decreased over the rest of the weekend, but not by much. He slept well, although lonely, on Sunday nights, the various scents of her and him together still imbued in the sheets. His job and his studies tired him into slumber on Monday and Tuesday. He was equally tired on Wednesday, but by that time, his desire for her made sleep harder to attain. He forced himself to concentrate on law during his Thursday night study group and convinced himself that there was still a faint echo of her perfume on the pillow. Friday morning, he was up early, changing his bed linen and cleaning the apartment in anticipation of the night to come.

Yes, there were times when he missed the potency of his youth. But there was also satisfaction in the control he now possessed. Of course, part of the current control was due to their earlier activity.

After Paul, CJ, and Derrick returned from the party at the Durant, CJ had gone in to check on the kids while Derrick and Paul carried in the leftovers and Paul locked up the house.

Paul opened the bedroom door and was immediately grabbed by his naked wife, pushed against said door, closing it with his body, his belt unbuckled and his slacks unzipped.

“Sweetheart, I haven’t washed,” he managed to get out as CJ’s mouth closed on him and her silken hair moved against his thighs.

Paul couldn’t really make out her mumbled response but he understood the intent. So he closed his eyes, clutched her shoulders, and reveled in the warmth of her tongue and lips until he sensed that he was approaching the critical point. Summoning up strength from somewhere, Paul pushed her shoulders back.

CJ stood up and in an instant, dragged him to the bed, stripped him, and mounted him.

“Thumb,” she gasped and Paul moved his right hand from her buttock to the front of her, putting the requested digit where she needed it to be.

Two minutes later, Paul was on his back, kissing the forehead of the woman curled up against him. And that was his last memory until he had awakened to find her off to his side.

Paul knew that if he willed himself to arousal, a mere touch on CJ’s shoulder would wake her. She would turn to him, her mouth reaching for his and her hand toward his hardness. She would laughingly answer his protestations about the need to rest for the day ahead with the words he used to counsel engaged couples and couples with rocky marriages – that he was her husband and entitled to “all the rights and privileges” that entailed. She never seemed to mention the corollary – that spouses had to balance demands for those rights and privileges with care and consideration.

So Paul gently moved his body just a little to slightly reduce the contact between the two of them. He adjusted the covers one more time, and found a more comfortable place for his head against her shoulder blade. Sleep finally came for him.

**Early afternoon; Berkeley, CA**

“Claudia Cregg Concannon Reeves!”

The applause was loud and raucous. The clapping was led by Derrick and Paddy the whistling by the governor of California and by Josh Lyman.

“Clap for Mommy!” Caitlin, sitting on the shoulders of her uncle Randy, urged her little sister, who was similarly ensconced on the shoulders of her uncle Mitch.

As Paul snapped shots of Josiah Bartlet placing the hood over CJ’s neck and shoulders, he thought about the ceremony almost five years ago, when the former president draped a similar hood on Danny Concannon. There was also clapping and shouting, but there were also tears.

“Are you as proud of her as I am?” Paul silently asked the reporter.

“ _Of course I am! I always knew she could do it. Thanks, Abbey.”_

_Danny took the two plates, each with a big slice of celebratory cake, from the former First Lady. Then he walked over to CJ’s mom, who was scooping up ice cream._

“ _On the cake or beside it?”_

“ _Beside.”_

_Then Danny walked over to the little cloud tuft where Alicia was seated, handed her one of the plates, and sat down beside her. He noticed that she seemed a little pensive._

“ _Penny for your thoughts.”_

“ _You’d be paying too much,” Alicia smiled up at him. She didn’t want to tell him that she was feeling a little undereducated. Paul had his Masters in Theology from Yale and then achieved his Doctorate in Theology from Duke. Danny finished his PhD work in English and Journalism right before his diagnosis. Now CJ had her PhD. When Paul and CJ finally joined them, she would be the odd one out._

_Danny knew that Alicia, while not exactly lying, was not being completely truthful with him. However, now was not the time to push for complete honesty. Perhaps later, when they were alone. After a Dance in their special place._

_Truth be told, Danny enjoyed the relationship that had developed between Paul’s first wife and himself. He loved CJ beyond all understanding and would not want to have lost one second of his life with her, but at times he found himself wondering about a life on earth married to Alicia. For one thing, he would never have been Mr. Alicia Dawson. He would not have spent time worrying about her traveling from continent to continent, from time zone to time zone. Would he have shown the restraint Paul had shown, respected her promise to Esther? He didn’t know, but he hoped so. One thing he did know, he would not have given up on loosening her inhibitions as easily (in his opinion) as Paul had. Danny had come to love Alicia and he hoped that when those days came when CJ and Paul arrived in heaven, that They would “work out” a way for him to be with both women, the way Brianna was with Jem and Hugh, the way Paul would be with both CJ and Alicia._

“I clapped for you, Mama!” Caitlin ran up to CJ and hugged her around the knees. “I clapped loud!”

“Thank you, sweetie! Here, you hold this,” CJ said, handing Caitlin the substitute diploma she had been handed as part of the ceremony so she could pick up the little redhead.

“Me clap,” Dansha said as Paul lifted her in his arms and CJ reached over to receive her youngest daughter’s kiss.

“Whas dat?” Dansha grabbed at the rolled up paper in Caitlin’s hand.

“That’s Mama’s diploma,” Paul said, taking the scroll before the two little girls could start fighting over it. He unrolled it to show his daughters. “It’s like the one on my study wall.”

“Not pretty. Like Papa’s.”

“That’s because they have to get Mama’s printed and framed, Dansha,” Paddy told his baby sister. “It’s a substitute. May I see, Papa?”

Paul handed the paper to Paddy, who unrolled it and began to read the typed out words. Although it was just a piece of legal-sized letter-weight bond, it was done in a fancy italic font and spaced as if it were the genuine article.

“The reg - ents” _(“it’s pronounced ‘ree-jents’, Paddy”, Danny corrected)_ “of the University of California on the nom-i-na-tion” Paddy sounded out the word “of the faculty of the College of Letters and Science have conferred upon Claudia Cregg Concannon Reeves the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science with all the rights and privileges thereto pertaining.”

Paddy stopped and looked up.

“What’s ‘thereto pertaining’, Derrick?” he asked. Derrick knew a lot of fancy words because he was a lawyer.

“It’s a fancy way of saying that Mama’s entitled to some special things because of the degree.”

“What kind of privileges, Mama? Like when I get to stay up later when Derrick’s coming home if I do all my chores? Can you lose your privileges if you do something bad?”

“It’s not that sort of privileges, Paddy,” Paul told the boy. “Mama gets to wear a robe with three velvet bands on the sleeves and she gets to wear that funny hat and that hood.”

“That cape?”

“Well, it looks like a cape, but it’s called a hood,” Paul laughed.

“Excuse me, Dr. Reeves?”

“Yes?”

Paul turned around to face the voice.

“I’m sorry, sir, I meant -,” the young woman blushed. “There’s a group photo.”

“My mistake,” Paul smiled, putting her at ease.

“That’s another privilege, Paddy,” Paul laughed easily, “Mama is entitled to be called Doctor Reeves, just like me.”

“So you two are Doctor and Doctor Reeves now?” Paddy’s class was being introduced to the art of writing letters.

“Or the Doctors Reeves,” Rich Cregg told the child. Gina and Randy’s middle son taught language skills in Walnut Creek. Then he turned to Paul. “The bus is here. Uncle Mitch asked me to get everyone together and that you had a master list.”

“Okay. If you’ll point me in the right direction, I’ll go wait there. Derrick, would you please help him round up the crew and I’ll check ‘em off.”

**Late afternoon; Napa, CA**

“Champagne, Dr. Reeves?”

“Thank you, Dr. Reeves,” CJ smiled as she took the flute from her husband.

“The kids?”

“I just left Caitlin and Dansha with Sophia. She’s showing them how to fill cannolis. Probably getting more filling on themselves than in the shells,” CJ laughed. “Derrick and Natasha are taking a tour of the vineyards with Rick and Christina. And Paddy went with Randy and some of the older boys to fetch some more champagne from the cellars. Where have you been?”

Paul let out a small sigh. “Talking with Frank Hollis.”

One sunny afternoon early last October, Paul was in his office on campus when the phone rang. Upon answering it with his name, the pleasant female voice asked him to “hold for just a second for Franklin Hollis.” When Frank got on the phone, he briefly exchanged pleasantries and then said that he was calling because he really needed to have CJ back at the Foundation, this time as a member of the board. Almost all the meetings would be in San Luis Obispo involving at most an overnight stay and that the Foundation planes would be available to take CJ between Oakland and Cal Poly. Frank went on and on about how important the next phases of “Road to a Better World” were going to be and although Mrs. Vinnick, Glen Walken, and Matt Santos were first-rate minds, none of them could hold a candle to CJ’s overreaching skills. Frank also felt that with CJ leading the charge in training “new minds” in Philanthropic Management, her interaction with the Foundation was vital to both the practical and the academic arenas.

“Hold on, Frank,” Paul laughed, “I’m afraid your assistant called the wrong number; this is my phone at school, not our home number.”

“Paul, I’m calling **you** to clear it with you before I ask her.”

When Paul told the man that the decision was CJ’s to make, not his, Frank went on to explain that once CJ and Danny became engaged, he had always discussed issues related to her travel for the Foundation with Danny and sought his consent. Also, Frank wanted to make sure that Paul didn’t have any issues with CJ returning to work for the Foundation.

“Frank, it’s a given that CJ would never make a decision without discussing it with me first, but she should be the one bringing it to me. Call her; she’s at home this afternoon with the kids. If you run into my son, give him my best, and, of course, to Sarita.”

That evening, CJ told Paul that Frank had called her, asking her to join the Hollis Foundation board. Paul in turn told her about Frank’s call to him and how surprised he was that A) Frank would do such a thing; B) that Danny felt the need to be involved at that level and C) that CJ apparently went along with it.

“Not at the beginning,” CJ told Paul. “It was our first big fight, except that I was the only one fighting. Danny just held his ground. In the end, when I finally stopped arguing, he just took my face in his hands and said that it was his right and his privilege to worry about me. We were sitting in Sam’s old condo, overlooking the marina, kind of like you and I are right now.”

Paul and CJ were in the living room facing the San Francisco skyline.

“Still, it must have been hard for you to accept it, sweetheart.”

“Well, at first I just figured that it was part of the compromising. After a while, when there were some negative reactions to what we were doing and how we were doing it, it was easier to accept. And I have to admit, although I never told Danny in so many words, that there was something nice about having someone care so much about me. I felt special, I felt cherished. I hadn’t had anyone really feel that way about me for a long time.

“So, husband mine, what do you think? Can we make this work?”

And the two of them discussed the ramifications (“The kids and I would miss you, sweetheart but we’ll manage thirty-six hours without you.”), the logistics (They both agreed that using the foundation’s planes was an excellent idea. Paul opined that she could stay overnight with Derrick. CJ wondered if having a stepmother in the other bedroom might cramp Derrick’s love life; Paul replied that Derrick could contain himself for one night every other month.), and the benefits (“Every so often, we can farm out the kids and I could go down with you, maybe stay an extra night.”). Then CJ called Frank Hollis and told him that she would start in June.

But apparently, Frank still felt the need to clear things with her husband, so CJ draped her arms loosely around her husband’s neck and kissed him lightly.

“So what plans does the foundation have for me?”

“A meeting in Singapore the first full week of August. I mentioned that we would be in Scotland for Ash and Brian’s wedding right before that but - .”

“With the academic year starting at the end of August?” CJ interrupted. “And Caitlin starting preschool? It’s way too much for me to take on. I’m not Wonder Woman.”

Paul kissed the top of her head. He was glad that CJ was not anxious to take the trip. He had the same concerns and would have voiced them if necessary, but was glad that she had instead.

“If you’re sure. Frank was also going to ask Sam if Morgan could go.”

“That could be a problem. Singapore was where Gabe Tillman and the others were assassinated.”

“Ouch.”

“CJ, are you beating up on your husband?”

Paul and CJ turned around at the sound of Josh’s voice.

“Joshua!” Donna playfully slapped at Josh’s arm as the two of them approached the Reeves’. Then she turned to CJ.

“Let me look at your earrings. I didn’t get a chance to see them up close on campus.”

When CJ was dressing for the ceremony earlier in the day, Paul handed her a small jewelry box. Inside was a pair of earrings modeled on the doctoral tam she would be wearing at the ceremony. The eight-sided studs were covered in blue sapphire pave stones, with a little gold thread tassel hanging from the center.

“Paul, these are gorgeous! It’s almost enough to make me want to go back for my doctorate,” Donna exclaimed.

“Don’t you think that you’ve got more than enough on your plate, what with the kids, plus, when you win in November (Donna was running for the Virginia House of Delegates) - ”

“Josh! Don’t jinx her!” CJ exclaimed.

In the meantime, Paul mouthed a silent “thank you” to Josh. As he had when Dansha was born, the minister had consulted with Josh about an appropriate gift of jewelry and then had taken Josh’s idea to Hank, who found the artisan to fashion the pieces.

Josh reflected on the irony that what had been a contest between Danny and him had turned into a mentor/mentoree relationship with Danny’s successor in CJ’s life. Josh sensed that CJ’s jewelry was the one area that Paul felt less than confident in comparison to Danny (to the extent that he would consider himself to be in competition with Danny) and was flattered that Paul came to him for help. At first, Josh wondered if he was being disloyal to Danny, but then decided that Danny would want CJ to be happy and wouldn’t mind.

“ _I don’t, but I have to admit that it feels good to know that he needs help.”_

“ _Alicia, that pendant that Danny gave you is striking! What’s the occasion?”_

_Danny looked up at the sound of Helen’s voice. Brianna, Helen, and Alicia were gathered a few feet away. Around Alicia’s neck was a bit of eighteen carat gold fashioned as an artist’s palette. The pigments were represented by perfectly faceted little gems – ruby, emerald, tanzanite, imperial topaz, tourmaline, fire opal, and sapphire._

“ _Mother made some remark about Paul just giving me lingerie when I finally finished my BA, so Danny decided I should have something more symbolic of it.”_

_Off to one side, Esther Dawson crossed her arms and glanced at the man beside her, then returned her eyes to the group around her granddaughter with a glare in them._

“ _I still think there’s something indecent about the two of them,” she harrumphed._

“ _Well, if They don’t mind, I don’t think you should,” her husband answered._

“ _But the way they carry on,” Esther continued._

“ _Esther, stop it,” Robert Dawson ordered._

“ _But - ”._

“ _But nothing,” he replied. “I’ve a good mind to take you across my - ” Then he smiled at her and she remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. He began to move around her in a circle. Apparently he had changed his mind about how to handle his wife’s prudery._

“It’s a shame you guys can’t stay a little while longer,” CJ told Donna.

“If my folks weren’t taking off for Italy the day after tomorrow, we could (Mr. and Mrs. Moss were in Virginia staying with the kids), but then you guys have to get ready for New York at the end of the month. And I wish you had time to stop in before or after Ireland.”

“But we’re pretty much booked for the next two months, and then when we get back, we have to get ready for the new year,” CJ replied. “Speaking of which, you’ll have to get the triplets ready for first grade. The last thing you need is company.”

“Well, Josh will be a big help with that.”

“Yeah, it’s not like I have anything exciting to do, like planning a campaign,” Josh added somewhat morosely.

“Josh, are you upset that Sam doesn’t want to run for president next year?” CJ asked. “I know you think he’s ready, but if Sam wants to defer to Berryhill, it’s his choice. Well, his and Morgan’s. They’ve been in Sacramento for over nine years now; maybe they want a little time to themselves. Besides, there’s the Senate seat opening up for ’20. It’s Sam’s for the asking.”

“Logically, I know you’re right, CJ, but he would be so perfect!”

“Hey, Dr. CJ!” Diana and Frank joined the group.” Gina asked us to pass this around.”

Diana was carrying a big antipasto tray; Frank’s tray held plates, forks, and napkins. Pretty soon there was a crowd of people around the Muñoz’ and the conversation turned to other subjects.

Hank, Steve, Pammy, and little Danny would be traveling to DC in late June and plans were made for special tours of the Capitol and some of the monuments. Rick said we would talk with Matt Skinner about getting the VIP White House tour for the guys. In spite of turning down the VPOTUS slot with Haffley, Matt was a serious presence in the Republican Party. He was also one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and was always willing to help pull strings for constituents of the Dems.

Charley asked a question about the annual house party at Cape May and expressed disappointment at finding out that between the trip to New York at the end of the month and the trip across the ocean for the wedding, the Reeves’ would not be part of the reunion.

“Dad is really looking forward to it,” Zoey said.

Liz produced some pictures she had received from Mallory. Everyone remarked about how much her second son resembled his grandfather.

The ringing triangle summoned them to the meal that Gina and the women of her family had prepared for the group and they walked toward the tables set up between the house and the vineyards.

**Next day, 1:25 AM, Kensington, CA**

“Love you. Love you. Love you.”

CJ sighed as Paul kissed her shoulders and then moved to the valley between her breasts.

Then his murmurings stopped as his mouth trailed down her abdomen to her waist, her stomach, her navel, and beyond.

“Paul, what are you-?”

“Sweetheart,” he laughed throatily, “it should be very obvious.” Then he continued on to his destination.

CJ closed her eyes, relaxed her legs, and gave over to her husband’s intimate mouthing. Of course, it was obvious what he intended. The thing was, he had already done it about ninety minutes ago, after having done the same thing with his fingers, and before doing the same thing with another body part inside her

The six of them had arrived home approximately two hours ago and Derrick volunteered to lock up, so CJ and Paul put the kids to bed and retired to their room.

“I hope that Natasha doesn’t mind Derrick being so circumspect, not spending any time alone with her,” CJ said as she hung up the regalia she had worn earlier in the day.

“I’m sure she understands, sweetheart,” Paul said as he walked into the bath.

Paul was pretty sure that Derrick’s presence in Paddy’s room the previous night and this night was not just a case of the lawyer not wanting to raise questions with Paddy and the girls about where he was and why. Over the years, Paul had learned to read his fellow males, and Derrick definitely did not exhibit the aura of a man whose sexual needs were being met. However, in spite of that “lean and hungry” vibration, Derrick had been unfailingly considerate of his parents, his little siblings, his parents’ guests, and, most of all, Natasha, making sure that she was introduced and included without seeming to hover over her. But Paul knew with certainty that Derrick and Natasha had not yet shared a bed, and that Derrick wanted to change that situation. Paul would never pry into his son’s life, but hoped that Derrick knew that all he had to do was ask, and he would have the benefit of his father’s experience and training.

As Paul walked back into the bedroom, he heard the door to Paddy’s room open and close. Then Paul’s eyes lighted on the sight of his wife reaching behind her back for the hooks to her brassiere, and he knew that the other two adults in the house would have a more pleasant end to the day. He hurried over to her, replacing her hands with one of his. Very quickly, they were involved in what CJ assumed was the current evening’s version of sex followed by sleep. However, Paul seemed to have other ideas.

And so for the second time, CJ quaked on his lips. She luxuriated in the little aftershocks. But then she realized that Paul had begun a third time. Her hand on his head asked the question she did not voice.

Paul lifted and smiled at her.

“I don’t have the recovery time I had when I was twenty-three, but I still have the same desire to spend the night making you crazy with wanting me.”

She replied that she had no complaints, but didn’t want to “put him to any trouble.”

“How can it be trouble? Today you became Dr. Reeves, sweetheart, but four years ago, you became Mrs. Reeves, and you are entitled to all the rights and privileges thereto pertaining.”


End file.
